Antiwar Protest Is Peaceful but Raucous

Thousands of antiwar protesters marched through downtown Sunday carrying placards and banners, and at one point the three-block-long mass of people chanted “George Bush, what do you say? How many kids did you kill today?�

The peaceful but noisy march from Pershing Square to a rally at the downtown federal building was peppered with angry rebukes of the president and the war effort in Iraq. Some signs read “Think Outside the Bomb,� “Some Cakewalk Mr. President� and “Bush is the Terrorist.�

“I’m here to protest what I consider is not a war, but a slaughter,� said Alton Donatto, 54, a paralegal. “I don’t think there’s a person here who wishes harm to any American soldier. We’re here to spare them from having to do any more harm to others.�

At its height, the march stretched about four blocks along Broadway, which was closed between 6th and Temple streets. Police said about 5,000 people attended; organizers said at least 20,000 attended. No arrests were reported.

The demonstration, sponsored by six local antiwar groups, featured a speech by Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg (D-Los Angeles) and performances by folk singer Michelle Shocked and the Radical Teen Cheer squad, who did acrobatic stunts while leading the crowd in antiwar chants.

Only a handful of people were seen with signs supporting the war. The crowd screamed obscenities at them and told them to “enlist now!�

Two themes tempered the march. Many protesters said they wanted the troops to come home before there is more bloodshed. Others complained that the media -- including the Los Angeles Times -- are concentrating more on strategy than on the suffering.

Merchants worked the crowds hawking antiwar bumper stickers, buttons and even “peace panties� -- underwear with a peace sign on it. One T-shirt seller held up homemade white T-shirts proclaiming, “Don’t Blame Me ... I Voted for Gore.�

“I’m part of the anti-Bush movement, plus I’m trying to make a little money. I’m not going to lie,� said T-shirt seller Brandon Victor, 22, a graphic design student.

As they marched past shoppers and storekeepers standing on Broadway’s busy sidewalks, demonstrators called out “Join us! Join us for your children!� and “You should all be marching!� They were met mostly with blank stares.

Ron Kovic, 56, of Redondo Beach, the Vietnam War veteran who wrote the book “Born on the Fourth of July� that was made into a movie, spoke at the rally and then soaked in the atmosphere from his wheelchair behind the stage.

“Many of the people who are architects of the war haven’t experienced war as I did,� Kovic said. “They’re arrogant, blind and reckless, risking the lives of the beautiful men and women that are our troops. It’s shameful.�